But why do fans still angrily criticize "Javier's dismissal"?, Haigang leads the points table, observation: China Super League half way, half way | home | points table
On July 8th, during the first half of the 2023 Chinese Super League, Shanghai Haigang team was unexpectedly forced to a 1-1 draw at home by the "deputy squad leader" Dalian People's team, but still temporarily led the points table with 34 points. The Shanghai Shenhua team, which changed its investors this year, performed better than expected and temporarily ranked second with 31 points.
Although Haigang team is currently at the top of the points table, after being forced to a draw by Dalian People's team, many Haigang fans and netizens angrily "rushed" into the club's official Weibo account, leaving a message angrily criticizing the coaching staff: "Javier is fired!"
Home Curse, limping in the harbor
After 15 rounds of semi-finals in the Chinese Super League, Shanghai Port team delivered a record of 10 wins, 4 draws, and 1 loss, accumulating 34 points and leading the points table. In theory, the leaders should not be blamed, but being forced to a draw by Dalian, the deputy class monitor, at home completely ignited the anger of the harbor fans. After all, this is not the first time that head coach Xavier has capsized at home.
In the first half of the Chinese Super League, the Haigang team exposed a major lifeline: they won't play at home. The away performance of the Port team is almost perfect: 6 wins and 2 draws in 8 away games, remaining unbeaten and scoring 20 points; The home record of the Port team is very average: they only won 4 out of 7 games, drew 2 games, lost 1 game, and only scored 14 points.
In theory, with the support and support of all the fans at home, it occupies a favorable time, location, and people, and has a higher probability of winning. However, the Shanghai Port team, coached by Spanish coach Javier, did indeed face the home curse in the first half of the Chinese Super League. The team's unbeaten gold medal was broken early on, and they also maintained an embarrassing record of conceding goals at home.
Weak team coach, lacking strong thinking
In the author's opinion, the reason why the Port team will not play at home is due to the lack of "strong thinking" in the tactical design of head coach Javier. Javier previously coached Chongqing and Henan teams in the Chinese Super League, both of which were relegation teams rather than championship contenders. His technical and tactical configuration also focused on defensive counterattacks to ensure that he did not concede goals first. This tactical mindset of "not conceding the ball first" helped Shanghai Port team maintain an unbeaten away game in the first half and deliver almost perfect away results.
Just like the two sides of a coin, the "weak mentality" led by the coaching staff of the Port team is very pragmatic and also very effective in away games, but once they return to the SAIC Pudong Football Stadium, they are of no use. On the away field, it's okay to tighten the fence first and not score, but at home, it's often necessary to put on a good posture and play positional games. It's necessary to score first to kill suspense and establish a leading advantage in the score early. At this time, the shortcomings of the port team's insufficient attacking ability are constantly exposed.
The harbor team is dominant at home without scoring, and even if they win, they stumble and become the norm. With a 1-1 draw against Shenhua, the Haigang team was almost in control of the overall initiative and was penetrated by an opponent's counterattack; Losing 0-1 to Chengdu Rongcheng, the whole team almost suppressed the opponent, but the coaching staff's substitution mistake led to their first home defeat; The Dalian team drew 1-1, and the Haigang team also had an advantage in the game. However, due to their insufficient attacking ability, their side crossing tactics were thoroughly understood, and they were ultimately targeted and quickly counterattacked by the Dalian team.
Opening the summer window is not without countermeasures
After the game, head coach Javier was quite generous and took all the responsibility for not winning the game. He said, "I'm definitely not satisfied with such a draw. The performance on the offensive end is far from the best. I will support the players, and I will take all responsibility."
In this game, Javier still started as a single foreign player, but due to continuous physical fatigue from starting, hot weather, and overall weakness, Oscar's "calming needle" state declined, and the harbor team's goal failure was due to Oscar's goal conceded. In the second half, the Port team still couldn't attack for a long time, and Javier, who had no way out, replaced three foreign players: Caron, Vargas, and Heike. However, the Dalian team, which received a red card, had a unified mindset and a tight defense. The Port team's attack lacked structure, and the substitute foreign players did not show much outstanding performance.
Javier has been using "single foreign aid" one after another and has also revealed his intention to adjust foreign aid to the public. After the game, he also said, "I had a very good conversation with the club and hope to use the summer window to make some changes. We don't need a lot of signings, we just need to make some additions in certain aspects. The issue of summer window signings is an internal discussion of the club, and any news will be announced to everyone. It is not convenient to disclose it yet."
On July 1st, the transfer window for the Chinese Super League opened, and Haigang team faced the "home curse" which also reminded the club that the team needs to improve its combat effectiveness through foreign aid adjustments. Next, the Port team will face a three line battle of the Chinese Super League, AFC Champions League, and FA Cup, and the existing foreign aid configuration is not perfect. Javier bluntly said, "If we want to achieve our dreams, we need to work hard not only on the field, but also off the field."
